Genesis 34:15-22

34:15 We will give you our consent on this one condition: You must become ¹  like us by circumcising ²  all your males. 34:16 Then we will give ³  you our daughters to marry, ⁴  and we will take your daughters as wives for ourselves, and we will live among you and become one people. 34:17 But if you do not agree to our terms ⁵  by being circumcised, then we will take ⁶  our sister ⁷  and depart.”

34:18 Their offer pleased Hamor and his son Shechem. ⁸  34:19 The young man did not delay in doing what they asked ⁹  because he wanted Jacob’s daughter Dinah ¹⁰  badly. (Now he was more important ¹¹  than anyone in his father’s household.) ¹²  34:20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate ¹³  of their city and spoke to the men of their city, 34:21 “These men are at peace with us. So let them live in the land and travel freely in it, for the land is wide enough ¹⁴  for them. We will take their daughters for wives, and we will give them our daughters to marry. ¹⁵  34:22 Only on this one condition will these men consent to live with us and become one people: They demand ¹⁶  that every male among us be circumcised just as they are circumcised.

[34:15]  ¹ tn Heb “if you are like us.”

[34:15]  ² tn The infinitive here explains how they would become like them.

[34:16]  ³ tn The perfect verbal form with the vav (ו) consecutive introduces the apodosis of the conditional sentence.

[34:16]  ⁴ tn The words “to marry” (and the words “as wives” in the following clause) are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[34:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “listen to us.”

[34:17]  ⁶ tn The perfect verbal form with the vav (ו) consecutive introduces the apodosis of the conditional sentence.

[34:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “daughter.” Jacob’s sons call Dinah their daughter, even though she was their sister (see v. 8). This has been translated as “sister” for clarity.

[34:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “and their words were good in the eyes of Hamor and in the eyes of Shechem son of Hamor.”

[34:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “doing the thing.”

[34:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Jacob’s daughter.” The proper name “Dinah” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[34:19]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew verb כָּבֵד (kaved), translated “was…important,” has the primary meaning “to be heavy,” but here carries a secondary sense of “to be important” (that is, “heavy” in honor or respect).

[34:19]  ¹² tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause explains why the community would respond to him (see vv. 20-24).

[34:20]  ¹³ sn The gate. In an ancient Near Eastern city the gate complex was the location for conducting important public business.

[34:21]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “wide on both hands,” that is, in both directions.

[34:21]  ¹⁵ tn The words “to marry” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[34:22]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “when every one of our males is circumcised.”